Fredonia

At 7:00 A.M. tomorrow the Gila/Las Cruces Incident Management Team will transfer command of the
Mangum Fire to the North Kaibab Ranger District.

Yesterday crews substantially completed suppression repair and began back hauling supplies. Today most heavy equipment and engines will be released, and the number of firefighters will be greatly reduced. Warm and dry conditions will continue. Fire activity is expected to be minimal. Firefighters will patrol the fire perimeter to mitigate any threats to containment lines

Yesterday crews continued with suppression repair, and constructed fire line around pockets of smoking fuel adjacent to Highway 89A.   During the afternoon a very small lightning ignition was discovered outside the Mangum Fire containment lines.  Firefighters quickly extinguished this fire.  Today firefighters will be patrolling the fire perimeter, looking for new fires started by yesterday afternoon’s lightning storms.  Crews will continue suppression repair, grading and repairing damaged roads, filling and re-contouring hand lines and chipping woody debris.

Yesterday firefighters made steady progress with suppression repair, while monitoring the predominantly creeping and smoldering fire.  Fire crews will continue to focus on suppression repair today.  Fire activity is expected to be minimal, but there is a potential for widely scattered thunder storms.  Strong gusty outflow winds from these storms, if they develop, could increase the intensity of the fire and threaten containment lines.

Winds subsided yesterday, and limited fire behavior resulted in no growth in acreage on the fire. However, helicopters made a few bucket drops on a flare up in the Burro Springs area.  Fire crews will continue to focus on suppression repair today.  Low humidity and extremely dry fuels present the potential for active fire behavior.  Interior creeping and torching remain in isolated areas of the fire, which are being monitored to prevent threats to containment lines.

Effective 6:00 this morning, the Gila/Las Cruces Incident Management Team assumed command of the Mangum Fire. Although strong, gusty winds continued yesterday, containment lines held and there was no growth in acreage on the fire.  Predominantly westerly winds are expected to moderate over the next few days, providing an opportunity for fire crews to focus on suppression repair today.  Repair of dozer lines and containment lines, and felling hazard trees will occupy crews not engaged in suppression.  Isolated areas of active fire remain around the fire.  

A dry lightning storm was observed several miles north of the Magnum fire perimeter Friday afternoon, sparking an ignition that was detected Friday night. Several crews and aircraft responded and were working to suppress the fire late into the afternoon. It is located across the Utah border on BLM land and named the Wire Pass fire. For Wire Pass fire information call: (435) 644-1209. On the Mangum fire, crews continued work to improve fire lines and conduct suppression repair where needed.

The entire Mangum Fire perimeter was less active yesterday with much smaller amounts of smoke observed.  Crews continued work to improve fire lines and conduct suppression repair where needed. The Jacob Lake Community and the entire White Sage community on the west side of the fire are anticipated to have their evacuation threat rescinded entirely by Sunday morning. Highways 89A and 67 will reopen to public travel Sunday morning at 6 A.M.

Yesterday the northeast corner of the fire remained active, with crews continuing to flank the fire with line construction and direct attack where possible. A smoke column developed over the NE section during late afternoon as interior fuels were consumed.  On other sections of the fire crews extinguished hot spots, conducted suppression repair, and improved fire lines. Power was restored to Grand Canyon National Park by late afternoon. Efforts continued to mitigate hazardous trees along highway 89A as the Team tentatively hopes to reopen Highways 89A and 67 for public travel by Sunday.

Wednesday’s fireline work focused increased effort on the NE section of the fire north of Highway 89A where the fire is still most active. Additional crews were added to bolster resources working in this difficult terrain. The remainder of the perimeter continued to see crews doing suppression repair, extinguishing hot spots near the perimeter, and monitoring for spot fires potentially spread by afternoon breezes.